] What is Check 21 and what is its basic purpose?
]
] Check 21 is a federal law that is designed to enable
] banks to handle more checks electronically, which should
] make check processing faster and more efficient. Today,
] banks often must physically move original paper checks
] from the bank where the checks are deposited to the bank
] that pays them. This transportation can be inefficient
] and costly. Check 21 becomes effective on October 28,
] 2004.

[ FYI everyone who still writes checks. I got a heads up email from someone at my company about this, so I thought I'd share. The primary result i see is that you won't be able to "float" checks, if you were of a type that did so. There won't be a day or two of "processing" your check anymore. Not a big deal for most of us.

The upshot is that, while there's no mandate for banks to pass on savings, the reduction in processing costs may well result in cheaper banking for everyone. -k]